Six people have been executed in the southwestern city of Chengdu for participating in riots in June when the government crushed the pro-democracy movement, a local official said Thursday.
The executions brought to at least 18 the number of people put to death following the military crackdown on demonstrators in Beijing and other cities. Two people already had been reported executed in Chengdu for roles in three days of rioting that began June 4, when troops killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in Beijing and police in Chengdu tried to break up a student sit-in.An estimated 30 people died in the Chengdu violence, and an entire city block, including a large department store, was burned down. It was the worst outbreak of violence in any city outside Beijing.
The six in Chengdu were sentenced to death at a public rally Tuesday and immediately executed, said an official of Chengdu's Foreign Affairs Office.